LAHORE: Stakeholders in the Punjab government’s proposed establishment of a Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority have raised objections and asserted that the law department and the advocate general should consider objections and redraft the proposed Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Bill of 2024.

The Standing Committee on Services & General Administration Department, in its second sitting on Friday, saw exemplary bipartisanship between treasury and opposition members as they discussed the contents of the bill in detail and expressed their dissatisfaction.

A committee member, seeking anonymity, told Dawn that an administrative secretary “made it clear” that the proposed bill had been okayed by the Punjab cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

Still, the source said, the Local Government and Community Development (LG&CD) department representative as well as the inspector general of police expressed their reservations and claimed that they had seen the proposed bill in this meeting.

An opposition member said the bill would not stand if put to scrutiny by the committee members. He asserted that such laws only broaden the void between the governed and the government.

The committee, led by treasury MPA Imran Akram Dhilon, asked the opposition members, the LG&CD department representative, and the IG Police to submit their reservations in writing at the committee’s next sitting scheduled for Tuesday (Sept 3).

The meeting agreed that the law department and the advocate general would consider the objections raised by the stakeholders and redraft the bill, ensuring it is transparent and acceptable to all stakeholders.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024